Challenge of Strength
by UponSkylineStatic
Summary: After a tragedy struck Sakura at a young age she was force to live the majority of her teen years in isolation and guilt. Now, she's come back to Konoha High for the last year of high school as a changed woman. Can she find the strength to deal with her present situation, conquer her past demons, and create a brighter future? AU SasukeXSakuraXNeji
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone and welcome to the beginning of my Naruto fanfiction!

I would like to start off simply by thanking you for being here, and also by mentioning a disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything else I mention in this fanfiction.

Secondly I would like to warn out that this may not to be your typical fanfic. I thought it would be fun to try to create a realistic, life-like version of the Naruto story instead of the odd, entertaining but iritic, anime it is. I hope this is of as much interest to you as it is to me.

Also, note:

_This indicates that it is a flashback_

**While this indicates that it is being said by Inner Sakura**

Thanks again, and enjoy!

* * *

Shikamaru exhaled slowly as he sat on the grassy lawn in the front of Naruto's house, starring up at the clouds in the bright summer sky. The spot he was in had quickly became one of his favorites over the last few months. More often than not Shika could be found spending his leisure time in that very spot, watching the clouds float by while his friends fussy over Naruto's vehicle.

"God damnit!" The blonde haired boy cussed, scratching the back of his head in confusing while eyeing up the hunk of scrap metal in front of him. "I was sure that would do that trick!"

"You say that EVERY time, dumbass." Sasuke scoffed from behind the wheel of the busted up old jeep.

Naruto had recently purchased the used jeep from an elderly neighbour. When he bought it the bucket of bolt didn't even start, but the energetic young blonde was determined to have it up and running in time for his summer vacation. He enlisted the mechanical help of his friends various times over the last few months, but only now was his precious vehicle showing its first signs of life. Unfortunately for them, their summer was coming to an end rather quickly.

"That's what you get for buying a car for only $200." Shika mumbled loud enough for the other boys to hear him. "It's more trouble than it's worth."

Naruto growled in frustration. He was about to retort when he notice a small navy blue car pulling into the driveway beside where the boys were working.

"Hey guys." Iruka greeted as he stepped out of his car. "How's the jeep coming along?"

"It's not." Sasuke muttered, slouching back into the driver's seat.

"Ah, that's too bad. I'm sure you boys can get it done by the time school rolls around!"

Naruto growled again, this time the irritation caused him to gain extra enthusiasm. He picked up a wrench and dove back under the open hood. "The point was to have it for summer, not for stupid school."

"Speaking of school and driving." Iruka chose to ignore Naruto's comment, "You'll never guess who I ran into today at the store."

Naruto popped his head out from underneath the hood, eyeing up his foster father suspiciously. The way this conversation was starting made him think this was somehow a trap.

"Who?" He questioned.

"Office Haruno. We got to talking a little, and he mentioned that his daughter was going to be joining us again for school this year. He seemed worried about her, so I suggested that you could drive her to school and help her settle in."

"Whoa, whoa. Wait a sec." Naruto's face filled with confusion once more, "Sakura moved back? Since when?"

"Earlier this week, I believe."

"And you just expect me to drive her around?"

"Yes." Iruka said, while walking towards the front door of their home. "That is, if your jeep is running by then."

Naruto knew that there was no getting out of this. Iruka hardly ever asked anything of Naruto, so when he said the teen had to do something Naruto listened.

"Sucks to be you." Sasuke smirked once Iruka had vanished inside.

"Shut up, Sasuke." The blonde shoved his head back under the hood of the jeep and started tinkering away. "You're just jealous."

"Of what?"

"You don't get to drive a pretty girl around."

Sasuke scoffed. "I am not jealous of you being forced into spending time with Sakura Haruno. You can have her. In fact, do me a favor and keep her all to yourself."

"Wow, Sasuke. What climbed up your butt?"

The raven haired boy narrowed his eyes into a slight glare. "Nothing, dope. I just don't see the thrill in hanging out with a know-it-all, whiny, attention craving bitch."

"To be fair," Shika piped in absent mindedly while still gazing upward, "She's probably only so troublesome from spending so much time with Ino. Being subjected to such a high amount of bitchiness for an extended period of time would make anyone annoying."

Sasuke snorted. He doubted that was the reason.

"Oh come on," Naruto said, "You're being too hard on her. She's really not that bad!"

"Says the guy who was practically fucking in love with her." Sasuke commented, rolling his eyes.

"Fuck off." Naruto scowled, throwing a glare over to his dark friend. It was true; back in elementary school Naruto did have quite the crush on Sakura. She had been so cute, pretty, and smart. She was always one of the top students in their class. She was also one of the only girls to ever notice Naruto. Sure, it wasn't always in the nicest of ways, but at least he could get her attention. That was much more than he could say for most girls his age. Even now.

After a moment of silence passed between the boys he spoke up once more. "You know, we could be totally wrong about her. She could have changed a lot since we last saw her."

"She's been gone for, what, four years?" Shika mused, "She's probably a lot different now."

"I doubt it." Sasuke mumbled. He was always so negative. That's one thing Naruto didn't particularly admire about his friend. The two boys were very different in that regard.

Naruto let out a sign as he stood up and stretched. Hunching over an engine for so long can sure make his back stiff.

"Whatever, man." He said, finished arguing about it. "Just cut her some slack, she's been through a lot."

Silence fell between the boys once more. What Naruto had said was right, and they all knew it. She had been through so much in the past few years. She definitely deserved some extra patience from them, considering everything that had happened.

"Alright, Sasuke. Try it again." Naruto took a step back from the vehicle and waited.

Sasuke turned the key in the ignition for what felt like the hundredth time. The teens held their breath in anticipation of what was to come. Unfortunately, all that could be heard was the desperate cries of a sick engine.

Shika exhaled slowly, bracing himself for the loud curses that were bound to soon follow.

"God damnit!"

The young girl sat up with a start, jerking her whole body upright, opening her eyes to see only darkness. She clutched onto the blanket that she was still engulfed in, gasping for breath. Trying to calm her racing heart beat she held the blankets so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Her eyes swiveled in all directions but could only see what the green glow from her alarm clock would allow her to. All the many shadows of the room now seemed to hold a perilous monster or ghostly apparition waiting to whisk her away, back to her nightmare.

It took a while for her head to clear enough to know she was safe in a cluttered living room, just having woken up from yet another nightmare. Shuffling backwards so her back pressed against the backrest of the couch she had been laying on, Sakura whimpered a little.

"When are these nightmares going to stop?" She whispered to herself, her voice cut through the silence of the suburban home. Her hands released the coral colored blanket, letting it fall back down on top of her temporary bed while she brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly. She rested her forehead on the top of her knees and closed her eyes, every once in a while taking deeps breathes in order to calm herself more.

She should have been used to this by now, these nightmares she would get. They occurred every time she was stressed or had something unpleasant on her mind. And, as it so happened, she had been stressed almost constantly, having nightmares a few times a week.

Every time it was the same nightmare; the same play by play of everything that happened that day - it was always exactly the same. She could quote word-for-word what she had heard that day, she could mimic people's actions precisely, but that didn't mean she understood what had happened. Most of her nightmares and memories were fragmented; she couldn't make sense of it all.

_-Flashback-_

_It was nearing the end of March, the day was warmer than normal in the backyard of their home in Konoha Village. Many had gathered there that day to celebrate her 13__th__ birthday. Family, friends from school, and people from around the neighborhood, even some coworkers of her father's had stopped in. _

_Her father had been manning the BBQ, adorn in a "kiss the cook" apron, while her mother was bustling away in the kitchen trying to get everything prepared and organized. Her mom was a bit of a control freak, while he dad was very laid back and relaxed. It wasn't unusual for her mother to be elsewhere, working away trying to get everything done._

_Sakura herself was at the head of the table, opening up all manner of presents. As it was her 13__th__ birthday, it was the year she would finally become a teenager – something Sakura had been looking forward to for quite some time now. And in congratulations for meeting this milestone of life she was being showered in gifts and attention by everyone there. _

_She remembered being so happy. She remembered feeling very excited, having everyone's eyes on her. She was the star of the show that day, and she loved that feeling._

"_Mebuki!" her father had called out for his wife. "Hurry up and get out here, we want to open presents!"_

"_Coming!" she called back in a sing song voice as she was exiting backdoor of the house. While reaching for the door handle the metal accidently came loose from the wooden board. Sakura watched as her mother slipped the door knob into the open hand of Mr. Haruno. She kissed her husband on the cheek lightly and gave him a teasing smile, "Best get to work, Mr. Fix-it-man. Our house is falling apart!"_

_-End Flashback-_

Sakura relished cool breeze that came through her window that stood slightly ajar. She slowly climbed out of her bed, as to not wake up her parents from their peaceful sleep. A small amount of pleasure graced the bottom of her feet as she quietly fumbled her way across the cold hardwood floor.

She had never liked summer much. She preferred spring over any season, when the snow melted away revealing the colourful buds of flowers and lush green grass. As summer came rolling around the sun would grow so hot that the flowers would shrivel and the grass would become a sickly brown colour. But alas, summer was inevitable and it came every year at the same time. Sakura was quite thankful that it was almost over. Autumn was right around the corner, and school was mere days away.

Reaching the window she pushed it all the way open to let in a small amount of cool air. She stood there for quite some time with her eyes shut enjoying the change in temperature, even if it was a small one. After a moment the draft ceased and Sakura opened her eyes ones more.

Across the street was a small park, some of its outlines weren't visible in the darkness of the night. A look of anguish rose on her soft features. She always liked going to the park, but for a long time she hadn't been able to bring herself to step food upon the graveled ground.

_-Flashback-_

_Sakura was thirsty! It was such a hot day outside and she needed juice asap. As she skipped her way inside the back door she passed by Ikura as he hurried to leave the kitchen. Sakura didn't mind him, she was on a mission! _

_When she stepped into the cozy kitchen she immediately felt a change in atmosphere. She hear the hushed voices of her parents coming from the living room. She was very curious as to what was going on, so she quietly peeked her head around the corner to see. _

"_You can't." Her mom hissed in a hushed tone. She was clearly angry wish something and Sakura could probably guess what that was. Her dad had a tendency to sneak out of family events at the most inopportune times. It felt like he was always leaving every important event because he was called into work. True, her dad had a very important job, as he protected the lives of all the citizens of Honoha, but that never seemed like much of a consolation to Sakura. _

"_I have to." Her dad replied while pulling his arms through the sleeves of his uniform jacket. "You know that I would stay if I could. But it's an emergency, Mebuki."_

"_It's ALWAYS an emergency! How could one small bloody town have so many goddamn emergencies?" Her mom threw her arms up in the arm, raising her voice a little louder. "It's probably those damn bratty Akatsuki kids spray painting walls or just terrorizing the Inuzuka's dogs again!"_

"_You don't know that for sure, honey."_

_The golden hair women let out a cry of frustration. "How could you leave now? It's Sakura's birthday for god's sake. What are you going to tell her?" _

_Her dad was sitting on his reclining chair tying up this work boots. He didn't respond for a moment, he seemed to be thinking of the proper thing to say. After while he sighed and glanced up at his wife, his deep green eyes filled with an apologetic look._

"_Oh, no." Her mom said instantly knowing that face, "No chance are you leaving this for me to deal with! It's your choice to walk out on her birthday, you're the one who has to tell her."_

her dad finished tying his boots and stood up slowly, not saying anything as he made his way over to his wife. he looked her in the eye and said softly, "I have to go. Tell my little sweet pea that I'm sorry, but daddy's gotta go catch bad guys. I'll make it up to her."

_Her mom snorted, "She's going to be furious."_

"I know."

"_I am too."_

"I know."

_Her dad let out another sad sigh. He leaned down to kiss her mom on the head, but she pulled away and started walking back toward the kitchen. _

"_I love you." He called after her._

"_Just leave." She seethed. _

_Sakura stayed hidden in the doorway until she was sure her father and mother were gone. She watched at the front window as her dad's squad car took off down of the driveway. She had sat there and that very seat countless times before. Her heart dropped in her chest every time. _

_-End Flashback-_

Another breath of wind blew through the neighborhood, causing the swings in the playground to sway. The sound of rusty metal echoed between the houses on the street.

Closing her eyes once more, Sakura let out a painful sigh. It hadn't been that long ago that she and her parents had sat on those swings, just joking around and enjoying their time together. But now it seemed like an eternity had gone by since she had smiled.

After opening her eyes again, Sakura turned around in the dark room and stumbled back to her bed. Laying down she threw her thin coral blanket over herself trying to get comfortable, a thing she doubted she could do. She had never been able to relax and consent to comfort while she had something on her mind. And on nights she had that nightmare her mind was always racing.

_-Flashback-_

_Later that night after everyone else had gone home, Sakura, Ino and Tenten settled down in the living room for the night. Do to the weather the girls couldn't have a camp out in the backyard like that had originally planned. Instead, Sakura's mom had set up sleeping bags in their living room and lit the fireplace so that the girls could have a makeshift camp out. Her mom had gone to sleep upstairs hours ago, but the girls were too hopped up on sugar to feel sleepy. They had been telling ghost stories by their fireplace for an hour already, and the girls were getting a little freaked out. _

"_The footsteps came closer; step Scrape, step Scrape, step Scrape." Tenten did the motions along with her story, drawing the two others in more, "They came closer, closer. Finally she reached the front door, turned the knob. Gasped! It was locked! Slowly, she turned around and… ARGH!" _

_Tenten screamed, flailing her arms around like she was holding the bloodied hatchet of the psychotic lumberjack, pretending to chop the limbs off of her friends. Ino and Sakura both started screaming in terror!_

_After a few moments the screams erupted into giggles and the girls settled back down again. _

"_That was a good one, Tenten!" Sakura complimented. _

"_Thanks!" She replied, "I go camping with my family a lot. I know all the best camp fire stories."_

"_I'm getting kinda tired of scary stories, though." Ino complained. "I have a better idea!"_

_Sakura had learned that when Ino plays truth or dare she plays it aggressively. After a few rounds of simple questions and dares, Ino started getting more outlandish. _

"_Sakura, it's your turn. Truth or dare?" she asked_

"_Umm," Sakura thought about it for a moment, "Truth."_

"_Ugh, forehead!" The blonde whined, "You always pick truth! Pick dare for once."_

"_Yeah, Sakura. Come on." Tenten prompted._

"_Okay, fine." Sakura gave in, "Dare."_

"Oh, forehead. I have the perfect dare for you!" Ino started giggling in amusement which, for Sakura, is never a good sign. "I dare you to go get a bottle of your parent's alcohol!"

"_What?" Sakura was taken back, "N-no, I can't."_

"_What's the matter?" Ino teased, "Is little itty bitty Sakura scared? Aww, I thought she was a cool teenager now, but I guess I was wrong."_

"_Shut up, Ino-pig. This is serious. We could get in trouble!"_

_The blonde scoffed, "Oh whatever, Sakura. Stop being such a chicken! Just go do it already!"_

_Sakura has always been a shy, nervous young girl. But ever since she had become friends with Ino and Tenten she was being taken out of her shell. "Dragged" was probably a more accurate term. The other girls would tease, pressure, and bully her into doing whatever they wanted her to do. She felt that if she stood up for herself they wouldn't like her as much. Her whole life she had just wanted to fit in and have friends. She wasn't about to mess that all up by standing up for herself now. _

_It was only a matter of time before Sakura gave in to the other girls. Together the three of them quietly crept into her basement where her parents kept their liquor. Once they opened the cabinet they discovered that none of the girls had any idea what the bottles of liquid were. They decided to bring a few of the open bottles upstairs so that they could have a little taste of everything._

"_Owhg." Sakura choked out a sound as she tried not to spit the brown liquid all over her friends. "That's so gross!"_

"_Oh, man up!" Tenten jeered, taking another swig from a different bottle. She too cringed as the taste hit her mouth, but she seemed to be handling herself much better than Sakura. _

"_Shhh, keep it down." Sakura whispered, "We don't want to wake my mom!"_

"_Ugh, Sakura, relax would you?" Ino said between swallows, "Everything's going to be fine!"_

_-End Flachback-_

Throwing her blanket back off of her overheating body, Sakura rolled over on the couch and buried her face in her pillow. She let out a groan; she'd rather not remember what came next. Not that she wanted to remember all that had gone through her head already tonight. Believe her; nothing could make her want to forget it more.

Groaning again, she pinched her eyes closed and tried desperately to shake the visions from her view. But like every time she started thinking about her mother she could not get the images of her out of her head.

_-Flashback-_

_Sakura awoke a short while later; she and her companions had all passed out a short while after they had started drinking. Her head was spilling a little, she was very groggy, and she felt abnormally warm. Her eyes fluttered open slowly and immediately her heart started to race. _

_Fire. _

_Fire was dancing all around her. It started at the fireplace and branched out across the walls, and it was now nearly incompacing the whole room. She tried to scream - call for help - but fright had left her without a voice._

_Quickly she leaned over and shoved Ino and Tenten awake. "Get up! Get up!" She screeched over and over, grabbing at their sleeping bags. Both girls awoke, startled, and sat upright with terrified expressions as they took a split second to witness the sight around them. _

"_Oh my god!" Ino screamed, stumbling as she tried to jump to her feet._

_The girls all fumbled around frantically trying to find a way out – a way to safety. Sakura scrambled up from her sleeping bag, her heart racing. She wildly looked around the room. Through the smoke she could almost make out a path to the kitchen. If she could just make it through there she should be able to escape through the back door. It was a risk, but at this point it was her only shot._

"_This way!" She called out. She held her forearm up to her brow and squinted, trying to cover her eyes from the sting of smoke and flying ashes. _

_She tried to lead the way through the smoke and flames as fast as possible. It didn't matter how _

_A pained scream rang out from behind her. She halted in her spot and spun around, trying desperately to see where her friend was._

"_Ah, my arm!" She heard her friend's voice through the thick grey plooms of smoke. _

"_Ino!" She cried out into the darkness."Tenten!"_

"_JUST RUN!" Ino screeched as her silhouette finally came into Sakura's view. She was clutching her bicep her hand and dashing toward the kitchen, Tenten in toe._

_The girls were able to weave their way around the last of the flame. They bust through the backdoor at the same time, all falling to a heap on the ground. _

"_Aaah! It burns!" Ino wailed in pain, sitting on the ground and clutching her arm._

_Disorientated, dizzy, and nauseous, Sakura scratched at her burning eyes which stung so much she could hardly open them. Coughing, choking, and gasping for air, she slowly crawled further from the house. The young girl used the last bit of straight she had left in her arms to push herself into a sitting position on the cold ground. _

"_Ahh, make it stop!" Ino's cries filled the neighbourhood. _

"_Oh my god, what was happening?" She questioned herself as she continued to gasp for air. She desperately racked her brain for any explanation, but came up with nothing. She couldn't think straight. Nothing made sense. _

_She spun around to face the burning building just in time to witness the top floor of the small suburban home give way to the flames. She heard a few creaks, and then the second floor collapsed with a horrendous crash. Sakura's eyes widened in horror and she let out a scream at the top of her lungs that cut through the night._

"_MOM!" _

_-End Flashback-_

Fresh tears filled to the brim of her emerald eyes and she tightly squeezed them shut. She was unable to contain the sadness that poured down the pale skin of her cheeks.

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So, what do you guys think so far? Please, let me know! I'd love to hear from you.

Cheers.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello and welcome back to another exciting episode for Challenge Of Strength!  
If you haven't already noticed I am trying to create a realistic, life-like way to tell some of the Naruto story.

Just a few things to quickly go over:  
I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.  
_This indicates that it is a flashback or happened in the past._  
**While this indicates that it is something said by Inner Sakura.**

Thanks so much for reading! Enjoy!  
**  
**

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Mist billowed around to room, covering ever object it touched in a thin layer of warm liquid. The sound of water droplets pelting against the tiled wall echoed in her ear. Sakura stood in front to the foggy bathroom mirror in her pale green towel gazing at her hazy reflection.

She had carelessly left her wet hair down so that it dripped water over her shoulders and down her back. She examined her roots warily but decided that you could not yet see her natural golden hair growing out. She had always had her mother's hair; straight golden strands that took an extremely long time to grow. She knew it would still be weeks before her blonde roots started to show through. At the moment her bubble gum pink head of hair looked in pristine condition as it lay sopping onto the grungy bathmat on the tiled floor.

Why did she dye her hair cotton candy pink? People asked her that question frequently, and to be honest, she had never been sure how to answer. Sure she could have said it was her rebellious stage, or even claim it was because her favorite colour was pink. But she knew better than to say those things. Though not many people would have continued the conversation past that point, anyone who knew her well would know that she was lying. She never was a fan of the colour, nor was she ever one to be rebellious.

Most teenagers her age would have had a rebellious attitude, given her circumstance. Growing up with a policeman as a father and a deceased mother would be hard on anyone. Especially when you threw in the fact that ever since her mom's untimely death her father had become a crazy workaholic, which caused her to have to move in with her creepy grandparents. Now that she was back she doubted anything would be better. In fact, she was almost positive that everything would be worse! She had left Konoha Village she was no longer on speaking terms with her old friends.

"Sakura!" A voice snapped her out of her fixed gaze on the mirror. "You better get out of the shower or you'll be late for school."

Sakura sighed, adjusting the mossy green towel she wore. After turning off the shower knobs, she picked up her previously discarded pajamas and made her way out of the bathroom. Shuffling down the hallway she left a trail of water drops on the old yellow carpet that lead to her makeshift bedroom.

For the time being, she was sleeping on the couch in the living room. To create more privacy for her, her father had huge up huge shower curtains that hung from the ceiling. Although terribly tacky, they seemed to get the job done.

Closing the curtains behind her, the girl chucked her used clothing onto the floor before she crossed the room to a pile of moving boxes. She stood there a moment, blandly scanning the articles within. Sakura made her decision and pulled out a few pieces of clothing; a pair of denim capris, a dark red tank top, and a button up white blouse. She was never one to be obsessed with fashion, that was more Ino's area of expertise. She found that there were times when a girl needed to look nice, but she'd rather stick with the plain and simple look.

She grabbed her faded green messengers bag and walked out of her bedroom. Fully aware that her hair was still very wet, she walked back into the washroom and pulled a brush through it. Thankfully, just like her mother's hair, it was quite manageable and didn't need much taking care of. Once that was finished Sakura left the bathroom again, this time walking into the kitchen.

"Mornin' sweet pea." Called Kizashi Haruno as his daughter entered the room.

She mumbled incoherently in response to her father. He was a rather thickset man in his later forties, adorn in the deep blue of a police uniform.

"How'd you sleep?" Her dad's questioned while he stood over the stove with a frying pan in one hand.

She glanced up at him giving him a bland look, she replied, "Fine." Sakura knew that the smile her father was giving her was a sad one.

Just then there was a knock at the front door.

"That must be Naruto." Mr. Haruno said. Sakura rolled her eyes and let out a quiet groan. She had argued with her father many times over the past few days about Naruto being her new ride to and from school. She didn't like the idea of being stuck in a car every morning and afternoon with some irritating guy she hadn't spoken to in years. But no amount of whining, arguing, or complaining would persuade her father out of the idea. It was a situation she seemed to have no control over.

"**Much like moving back here."**

"Hey, Officer H!" A very energetic 18 year old blonde came bouncing into the room the second Kizashi had opened the door. He turned to glance at Sakura and almost had to do a double take before his jaw practically hit the floor, "Whoa, Sakura, nice hair!"

"Hn. Thanks." She mumbled back.

"Naruto, are you hungry? I made pancake!" the red headed middle aged man announced.

"Oh, yeah!" Naruto's smile stretched out wide across his face. "Iruka never makes me breakfast! He's always gone to work before I wake up. I usually end up eating pop tarts or ramen noodles."

"In that case, you can come over every day for breakfast." Her dad was a little worried about Naruto's health if all he ever ate were ramen noodles, "Consider it my thank-you for volunteering to drive Sakura."

He and Sakura both took seats at the kitchen table while Mr. Haruno served them breakfast. Sakura didn't know how much she could eat; her nerves were causing her stomach to feel uneasy. She was never a big fan of breakfast but she had watched too many health videos in school not to know the importance of it. So she tried to eat something at least.

She chose ignored the two males' conversation as she began nibbling away at a pancake. She didn't feel in a very social mood today.

She inwardly groaned. Today was going to be awful. Actually, correct that; today was going to be an awful start to a truly terrible school year. Why, you ask?

After the accident Sakura's father became even more distant from her. He was always at the police station burying himself in work. On the off chance that he was at home he would lock himself in the bathroom for hours. Sakura had unfortunately walked in one more than one occasion to find her father a crumpled mess, sitting on the floor sobbing. She knew it was his way of grieving the loss of his beloved wife, she couldn't blame him. But the parents of Sakura's deceased mother could find a way to blame Kizashi for anything and everything.

She remembered the day shortly after the funeral that her grandparents came to town to visit for the weekend. At that time Sakura and her father had taken up residency in a local motel. Their house had been burned beyond repair and the vast majority of their belongings were now gone. They had no choice but to live in a motel for a few months until her father could save up money to rent a new home for them. Her grandparents didn't understand, though. They convinced Kizashi that it would be better for Sakura if she left him.

_"A young lady cannot grow up to live a health life if she is raised in a hell hole such as this."_ The voice of her grandmother echoed in Sakura's head. _"She should come live with us. We raised one beautiful daughter; let us help you with our granddaughter. At least until you get back on your feet again."_

At first Kizashi outright refused the idea. Sakura was his daughter and this only family he had left, he wanted her to stay with him. He was determined for the two of them to stay together. However, something happened over the weekend to change his mind.

Sakura doubted that it was the persistent nagging of her grandmother that made him agree to send his only daughter away. She was certain that the reason he changed his mind about keeping her around was because deep down he knew the loss of her mother was completely Sakura's fault. Ever since that night every time Sakura looked up at her father's face she felt an overwhelming rush of guilt. It was her fault that the fire happened. If she hadn't have pestered her mother into a building a fire or if she hadn't have given in to her friends' teasing when they wanted to bring booze – flammable liquids – up to the room than the fire would have never happened. Her father had told her that the firemen were unable to find the cause for the fireplace to get that out of control. So she kept her misdoings a secret from everyone. Only she, Ino and Tenten knew the truth about what happened that night and none of them were going to speak a word of it. All three girls knew what they had done and what it had caused. If any of them were to speak about what they did that night it was possible that they could all go to jail for negligence causing death and bodily harm. This was a secret that would forever stay within the three friends.

Sakura shook her head slightly, trying to get the images out of her head. She poked her pancake with her fork, grimacing at it. These thoughts of hers weren't helping to settle her stomach any.

"-I mean, there's always the things that kinda bum me out." Sakura dazed back into reality where Naruto was busily shoving his face full of food while also answer a question that her father just asked him. "Like homework, or how Kakashi is always late, or how Iruka refuses to give me answers to his tests even though as my teacher and guardian he should want to help me get good grades."

Kizashi let out a loud chuckled at the silly blonde boy. The little hairs on Sakura's neck stood up on end. That was the first time in years that she had heard her father's laugh. It was kind of an eerie sound.

"But all in all it should be a good year." Naruto had just finished his breakfast, letting out a satisfied sigh. He stretched his arms upward and rested them behind his head, slouching down into the kitchen chair.

"Hear that, sweat pea? Aren't you excited about going back?"

She slowly turned her head to face her father and spoke quietly but firmly, "No."

A moment of awkward silence crept through the room. Her father's brow furled in concern for his daughter.

"Have you remembered everything you need?" Her dad questioned her, moving on from the subject. It didn't matter if she was excited or not, she was going to school today.

"Mhm." She replied. Both she and Naruto got the hint that it was time to leave. She quickly shoved one more bit of pancake into her mouth before standing up from her place at the table. Swallowing the chunk of pancake, Sakura adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder before she hurried to the front door and slipped on some plaid red flats on her way out the door.

On first glace large mustard colored jeep parked in the driveway Sakura cringed. THAT was going to be her "reliable ride to school"? The vehicle barely looked functional, let alone safe or trustworthy!

"You can't be serious." She mumbled to herself.

"Yup!" The blonde boy beamed. He didn't seem to realize that Sakura was legitimately frightened by the beast of a machine. "That's my baby. Her name's Jutsu."

The pair climbed into either side of the tall yellow jeep. After a few tries, Naruto was able to start the beast. With a monstrous roar of her engine, the vehicle took off out of the driveway and down the street.

Sakura clutched onto her seatbelt for dear life. She needed something to take her mind off the horrific car crash scenarios playing on repeat through her head.

"So, 'Jutsu', eh?" She managed to sputter out over the numerous sounds echoing from behind the dashboard.

"Yeah, Jutsu the Jeep." Naruto nodded to himself before going on to explain, "Ya see, I bought it off of this really old Japanese dude a couple of months ago. Jutsu means technique in Japanese, and, well, this old girl took quite some technique to get her running again!"

Sakura couldn't help but picturing Naruto's "technique" meaning the right combination of profuse swearing and randomly banging around under the hood with a blunt object.

Sakura gazed out the window at the scenery that was passing by. Konoha Village itself was only a small subsection of the large city of Fire Country. Sakura knew the story of the Village's 'big boom' very well.

It was said that over a hundred years prior Konoha was nothing but a small fishing village. It was meek and run down by small time criminals, but no one really cared enough about it to do anything.

That was until a man by the name of Shodaime fell upon the village in his travels. Over the years he helped to make it less of a rundown hell hole and more of an actual town. The people of Konoha were so grateful to him that one of the local craftsmen carved a replica of Shodaime's head into one of the walls of the valley. Under the large portrait the craftsman carved the word "daiichi" meaning "first". When Shodaime asked the man why he had chosen that word to place under the monument, the man replied, "Because you were the first man to ever give a shit about our home; the village of Konoha." The man's words weren't eloquently spoken, but the message was clear. The people of Konoha would forever be grateful to him.

When The First- as everyone refers to him now- died it had devastating impact on the members of the town. For a few years after that the people were lost. They tried to govern themselves like any normal town would do, but without The First to guide them they lost the hope that they had once held.

But then, out of determination for the good of the town and the memory of his older brother, The Second came to power. Shodaime's younger brother Nidaime governed over the town for years. In a similar attempt to show how gratefully the citizens were, a man was hired to carved a likeness of him beside the one of his brother. As well, underneath the head was carved "daini" meaning second.

There were two others after Nidaime, both brave and powerful, wishing only good for the town. Their efforts paid off too, considering how much the city has grown and expanded since.

After what seemed like an eternity, the couple arrives in the school's parking lot. The pink hair girl hopped out of the passenger's seat before the jeep had even been put into park. She was so relieved to be on solid, safe ground again.

Sakura didn't hesitate for a second. As soon she was out of the death trap of a car she headed straight for the entrance of the school, and away from Naruto Uzumaki. She could hear him behind her, calling after her to wait for him. She chose to ignore him. She didn't want his help in the first place! If she could manage to ditch him now she'd be free of him until the ride home.

Though wide in length, Konoha High stood only one story high. It's faded red brick walls were covered in white wooden framed windows and held a few odd remnants of painted over graffiti. The cement path to the front entrance split into two smaller walkways, each leading in a different direction around the outside of the building. Students littered the pavement, slowly making their way inside through the front door.

"Sakura! Yo, Sakura!" She inwardly groaned at the sound of his voice getting closer. It would seem like ditching him would be harder than she originally thought.

"Sakura, I was calling you." Naruto huffed when he finally caught up to her.

"Oh?" The pinkette played coy as she continued walking into the school. "I didn't notice."

"Heh, that's okay. Hey, do you know where your first class is?" Naruto asked while the two of them down the front hall. He knew Sakura wouldn't have any idea where to go since she had never been there before, so he figured he'd be nice and try to help the new girl out.

After rummaging through her bag she pulled out her timetable and handed it to the sunnyhaired boy. He took it graciously and looked over all of the classes and teachers that she had. Also, everyone's locker number and combination where listed on their sheet, to help teachers out a little. Instead of having to receive this information during class they were given it early so that they were able to use the metallic box contraptions on their own time.

"Your locker isn't far from mine, I can take you there first." He mused after checking the time on his watch to make sure they would be able to make it to their first class on time.

"Hmm." The green eyed girl said gratefully while taking her timetable back. She shoved the paper into her pocket and continued walking. They had just entered the third hallway and she was trying to memorize which way they had turned. When they turned a corner a thought crossed her mind, "Do we have any of the same class?"

"We sure do!" He replied loudly, chuckling to himself. "Everyone in our grade has gym together right after lunch, so we have that one for sure! We also have History and Bio together."

They slowed their pace down enough to read each number on the locker doors that lined one side of the hallway. After a moment or two she found a number she recognized.

"This one's mine." She said, taking out her timetable from her pocket. She found the combination printed underneath the locker number and began to spin the dial on the lock. In a moment it was unlocked and she shoved her messenger bag on top of the metal shelf after taking out a small purple note book and a pen. Deciding that was all she would need until after lunch, Sakura shoved her timetable back into her pocket and closed her locker once more.

"Mine is over there." Naruto stated pointing a few meters down the hallway. "History is our first block, so I'll show you how to get there."

Both took off walking in the direction Naruto had gestured too. In no time at all they had found the correct one and Naruto repeated Sakura's actions, taking only took a note book, pencil and his timetable with him. He left his backpack in the locker and closed the door.

Soon they were walking again, the classroom wasn't that far from their lockers. But then again, nothing could be considered 'far' from anything in their small school. Frankly she would be surprised if there were two classes per subject in grade 12. Konoha High was pathetically.

Walking into thier classroom Sakura saw many people she had known from years prior. Actually, she knew everyone in her class, whether it be because they were childhood friends or because they had lived in Konoha Village for years.

"Let's go sit there!" The unmistakeably loud voice of her blond haired companion filled the quiet room. He gestured towards two empty seats at the table near the back of the class. After a quick scan of the room Sakura noticed they were the only available seats. Those were the perks of being late for class.

As the only option she had, she walked passed other tables of students towards the back of the room. Two other people were already seated at the opposite side of the table. Naruto quickly claimed the seat across from Rock Lee. From what Sakura remembered of him, she kind of liked Lee. Not in any romantic of course, she merely thought of him as a decent human being. He was sort of dorky, with his bowl cut hair and incredibly thick eyebrows, but he was still really sweet when he wanted to be. And for his great characteristics Sakura was able to overlook his slightly lame exterior... most of the time.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat when her eyes traveled toward the other person sitting at their table.

"**Oh, just shut up and sit down. You look like an idiot standing there with your mouth hanging open. Cha, get a grip over yourself Haruno!"**

Shaking her head slighting, she was able to break free of her gaze. Dropping her note book down on top of the table, Sakura took the empty seat as her own.

"Good morning, Sakura!" The black haired boy energetic said, "What a lovely surprise it is to see you here."

"Hi Lee." She gave the boy diagonal to her a small, friendly smile. He was one of the dorkiest people Sakura knew. Besides his odd features he wasn't that bad looking. He worked out a lot, for reasons unknown to the girl, and he wasn't that horribly dress. Brown slacks, a green shirt with a brown, black and orange design on it, and a pair of black runners.

"Ah, she remembers me." Rock Lee said aloud to himself, tears forming in his eyes.

"Hard to forget those bushy brows, ah Sakura?" Naruto joked, pointing a thumb in Lee's direction. Sakura had to admit, he had a point.

"Idiot." Muttered the other dark haired boy, who had yet to take his eyes off of the view outside of the window. He was clad in all black, even the fact that it was still summer didn't stop him from wearing a long sleeved black shirt and black board shorts with matching colored high top converse. Sakura figured he spent a good half hour that morning getting his hair to stick up in odd directions. He was good looking, rich, and had enough charm to make any girl fall head of heels for him. Naruto, however, always saw him more as a self-absorbed emo kid.

"Don't call me an idiot." Naruto demanded. Everyone knew he and Sasuke were the best of friends and the worst of enemies at the same time. They had a weird sort of relationship, they kind of acted like two squabbling brothers would.

"Hi, Sasuke." Sakura greeted, ignoring the previous comments the two boys shared. The mentioned teenager barely offered her a glance before turning back to the window.

"**God, he still doesn`t even notice you. You're pathetic."**

"So Sakura," Lee tried to start up a conversation, knowing the pain of going ignored, "Please tell us why you have chosen to come back to this beautiful village after all this time."

"I didn't choose to come back." She replied quietly, not even looking over at him.

"Aww, that's too bad." He would have said more but just then their teacher entered the room. He was late, as per usual.

"Hey." He said nonchalantly walking over to his desk and throwing himself into his chair. Some of his shinny gray hair stood up on his head while other strands fell where they pleased. He was wearing black pants and matching shoes, an off white shirt under a more dressy button up green striped one, and of course a green vest over top. The vest was given to all the teachers at the school as a gift for joining their staff. It had the school emblem on the left side just over top of the chest pocket. Green and gold were their school colors, and since it's really expensive to buy a bunch of gold vests for underpaid school employees it only made sense to have green ones.

"You're late, Kakashi!" Naruto yelled. He had a slight problem with controlling his level of speech.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that." Their teacher apologized half-heartedly. "You see, I was on my way here this morning when I saw an old lady trying to cross the street. She looked like she needed some help and-"

"Liar." Naruto muttered. Even his mummers are loud. Most of the class heard him, to which small stifled laughs were heard.

"Hn." Kakashi seemed a little offended that he wasn't believed. Though the feeling soon passed and the man pulled out a book from one of his drawers and started to read from it.

Besides the normal teacher's attire and the rather strange haircut, Sakura had to admit that he was quite attractive for an older guy. He was built but not bulky, tall but not monstrous, mature but not aged, and had the most captivating eyes. While one was the same dark colour as Sasuke's were, the other was a dark red with specks of black. Sakura's dad had once told her the story of Kakashi's odd eye.

When he was younger Kakashi had been an adrenalin junky, not that you would ever be able to guess that now. One night he accompanied his best friends Rin and Obito when they snuck out of their houses and went for a joy ride in Kakashi's father's trunk. The valley around Konoha has always been really good for off-roading and that's just what they did. It wasn't until after they decided to drive along one of the ridges of the valley wall that they ran into trouble.

With the pressure of the truck and its occupants the dirt shelf gave way and caused the vehicle to slide down the wall with dirt and debris. Somehow Kakashi's left eye was damaged while he and his two friends tried to abandon their vehicle, thinking that was the safest thing to do. It was good thinking too, if they would have stayed in the truck they would have certainly all died. But even after they had made it out of the truck they were still in danger. Dirt and mud brought down more debris and rocks while large tree branches began to fall. Kakashi and Rin were able to make it out alright, but not Obito. He was buried beneath all that had fallen, but he managed to hang in there and not die. At least not right away.

Kakashi had convinced Rin to run back down the valley wall to the city. She had the best sense of direction out of either of them, and Kakashi was sure that she'd be able to find help faster than he could. Not to mention the fact that he had been in a lot of pain because of his hurt eye. There was no way, in his mind, that he'd be able to make it to town and back before he passed out. While Rin was gone the gray haired boy stayed with his dying friend, unable to help him. When Rin returned she had brought an ambulance and police with her. But there was nothing anyone could do by that time, Obito was already gone.

When the paramedics finally managed to get Kakashi looked after they quickly came to the conclusion that they'd need to take out his whole eye. Acting as fast as they could, the doctors in the Konoha hospital were able to replace Kakashi's bad eye with a donated one. The ironic part about that was the only eye they had to transplant into Kakashi's missing socket was that of his recently deceased friend.

Sakura wasn't so sure that was the true story. In fact, she was certain that her father had fabricated some of it so that she would be so gross out and scared by the story that she wouldn't ever want to sneak out of the house at night to go on joy rides. That's what happens when you have a cop for a father.

"Anyways," Kakashi's voice brought Sakura out of her thoughts, "Class is half over by now since we've got an assembly that will take most of your class's time. Each block is about half an hour long today, this gives your teachers enough time to introduce themselves and go over any questions you might have. Other than that you're time here today is rather pointless."

You got to love Kakashi and his laid back attitude. He's not what you would call a 'strict teacher' by any means. In fact, Kakashi seemed to have turned Konoha High around when he first started working here. On his first day as a teacher he showed up late, scolded a student for calling him by his surname, and somehow managed to teach the students without making them even open a textbook. He quickly became one of the most popular staff members in the school.

"There's going to be an announcement any minute now to call us down to the auditorium." He stated blandly, "So you guys can talk quietly amongst yourselves until then."

Kakashi then turned his attention away from them and allowed them to continue on with their previous conversations.

"So how were your guy's summers?" Lee asked.

"Not bad. Worked on my jeep and hung out, mostly." Naruto was the first to reply. He put his hands behind his head and gazed up at the ceiling. "Iruka made me get a summer job though. But no one was willing to hire me for some reason."

A momentary pause overwhelmed them, but the blonde started talking once more as soon as Sasuke opened his mouth to say something. Sakura could only assumed it was a rude remark.

"I was able to get some odd jobs around my neighborhood."

"Like what?" Lee asked curiously. Thinking back on it, Naruto made an irritated face.

"Helping the old lady at the corner of my street weed her garden, cleaning out Iwashi's garage, and finding some lady's cat." Naruto's face contorted even more when he muttered "Honestly I could see why the cat left."

"My summer was great." Lee started enthusiastically, "I did some volunteer work. You know, cleaning up the park, planting trees at the entrance gate, helping out at the kid's fun fair, stuff like that."

"_**Yuck! The same fun fair Mom would help organize? Every year we have to go and sit outside in the boiling heat while a million little kids run around screaming. I hate that thing.**_"

"That's cool." She said, going against what she had said in her thoughts.

"Bet it's a great workout," Naruto said, still gazing up towards the ceiling. "Running after kids all day long and digging big holes in the ground."

"Yeah." Lee agreed while rubbing his upper arm at the same time. "I guess it is."

"Hn." Sasuke grunted out. He was defiantly one of the people who was mean to Lee. But for some reason, the nerdy black haired boy didn't seem that offended by it.

"What did you do over the break Sasuke?" Sakura asked, trying to ignore the bad feeling she held on Lee's behalf.

"Nothin'." Sasuke said shortly, not taking his eyes off of the view out the window.

"Nothing at all?" Lee said, receiving an unnoticed glare from Sasuke, "Come on, you must have done something interesting."

"Yeah, I did." He replied coldly, "But nothing I'm willing to share with you."

Sakura's eyebrows furled in annoyance. Something about him really irritated her.

"**Yet you used to be head over heels for the guy."**

Just then a loud noise was heard that startled the whole room.

"Attention staff and students." A voice called over the PA system, "Will all teachers now escort their classes to the auditorium please. All teachers and students to the auditorium."

Kakashi stood from his chair and ushered them with one hand to the door. "You heard the announcement," He said as students started to stand up as well, "Get a move on."

* * *

Well? What do you think so far?

Please leave comments, I love hearing from you! :3


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